You don't know what you have until it's gone REWRITE
by spiderwriters
Summary: Human AU. Rewrite. Daniel Dodgers was mysteriously frozen and awoken in the 24th and 1/2 century. He's a captain trying to find the reason behind his freezing. Things get more complicated when an old friend returns with no memory and goes under the guise of 404. Will Danny be able to save his friend and uncover his own past or will he fail?
1. Chapter 1

Everything felt sore when Danny opened his eyes. He could feel the crisp chilled unmistakable sterile smelling air of the medical room around him. The room was lightly bathed in the feint light of the setting sun outside. From the corner of his eye he caught multiple birds chasing each other and the sounds of vehicles rushing by, most likely on their commute home. Daniel glanced at the monitors and paused. _How odd_. He must have been placed in that newly built hospital outside Palm Springs with their fancy new tech.

Daniel rubbed his eyes, removing the last bit of sleep clinging on. He looked himself over for injuries. There were a few feint unfamiliar jagged cuts on his arms as well as one that ran from his earlobe down to his jaw. With a brief glance under his shirt he made out a round scar below his left clavicle near his armpit as well as another closer to the center of his chest.

There wasn't too much time for Daniel to ponder what had happened as short doctor with curly red hair stepped into the room. There was a satisfactory smile on his face as he clapped his hands together in what seemed like victory.

"Ah, the 'young hero' finally awakens. I am Dr. I.Q. HI." the man said.

Danny detected slight sarcasm with 'young hero' that left him more confused that before. What had happened for him to wind up here? Had he crashed his car doing something stupid? Oh how he hoped that wasn't the case. Maybe he did do at least something heroic to wind up here but maybe that act of heroics wasn't up to the doctor's standards of heroics.

Trailing behind the doctor was another man. His confident stature was matched by the toned muscles beneath his light blue jumpsuit. The white streaks in his ebony hair indicated experience. But most of all, the chiseled face of the man indicated that this was someone not to mess with.

"What's going on-what happened?" Danny asked.

His throat felt dry and rough. He placed his hand on his throat, feeling raised skin from a few small cuts on his throat.

"We were hoping that you could tell us." The tall man said. His voice sounded somewhat pretentious voice that sounded eerily like John O'Hurley.

"I'm sorry to disappoint." Danny choked out. "So, how long have I been out? And I get why you're here doc, but what about that guy?" Danny gestured to the John O'Hurley impressionist.

"I am with Captain Star Johnson with the Galactic Protectorate. And I'm here for a preliminary interview." The man said.

Danny could feel the steely gaze of this man. This "Captain Johnson" was watching his every move as if trying to find some excuse for him to fail. It was like he had some sort of superiority complex that Danny was somehow threatening just by- wait did he say Galactic Protectorate?

Surely he had to have misheard the man. Maybe this was some kind of joke. Yeah, it had to be.

There was a slightly saddened look on the doctor's face. "Mr. Dodgers, you've been awoken from a state of suspended animation. You've been asleep for three hundred and forty two years."

Suspended animation? How was that even possible? Why did it happen? No, he had to be dreaming? This had to be some sort of comatose dream.

"T-that's not possible." Danny said, although it was more of a reassurance to him than to the two men in front of him.

"Mr. Dodgers, I am sorry to tell you, but it is true."

The captain pinched his nose and let out a huff. "Look, if you don't believe him, look outside. You'll see for yourself."

Danny felt a slight chill run through him and he looked back out at the window. With the sun dipping behind a skyscraper, Danny felt a lump in his throat and a heavy stone in his stomach all the while his blood ran ice cold. Outside were towering buildings beyond recognition. Floating spires jutted out floating in unnatural ways. The birds Danny thought that he had seen were in fact flying cars. Had he not have been sitting in a hospital bed, Danny felt as though he would have collapsed. Danny ran his hands through his hair. His stomach churned and his vision blurred for a second as his breathing hitched.

With one quick motion, Danny leaped out of bed, pushing passed his unsuspecting visitors. His heart was pounding in his chest. The cold tile of the hospital chilled his bare feet as he took off trying to find the exit from this crazy place. This had to be some kind of prank, something not real, it couldn't be real. Danny could hear the two men taking off after him from down the hallway. He glanced back behind him, the short doctor was having a hard time trying to keep pace while the taller man was slowly but surely closing the distance between them.

"Code Gray 90th floor west wing!" A robotic feminine voice called out from the speaker system ahead.

Rotating gray lights flashed in the hallway as the voice repeated the call. Nurses backed out of the way as he took passed them. The stiff material of his hospital pants were beginning to chafe his legs as he ran trying to find the door out of the area. It was like an endless maze of long hallways with identical had to be a way out of here. Who would design a hospital like this? Just as he was about to give up hope, Danny's eyes lit up upon seeing a set of double doors. Danny ran full force, hoping that they would open. His body collided the the steel doors, still holding fast, and catching a glimpse of the patients through the small glass windows. He gave it another shove with his shoulder, but it wouldn't budge.

The doctor and the man in the jumpsuit were gaining on him. Danny glanced around, trying to find another way out or for a way to defend himself. But alas he was in an empty hallway with all the doors around him shut tight. It was then that Danny saw a sign for the stairs, but it was near to where the men were at. If he got there quick enough, he might be able to make it. It was worth the shot.

Running on pure adrenaline, Danny took off full force towards the stairs. He just hoped that these doors would open. The men were less than ten feet away from him as his hands pushed against the doors to the stairs. It swung open, allowing Danny to dip inside with five feet in between him and the captain. The door had barely had time to latch before it had been slammed open, echoing through out the stairwell.

Danny had just rushed down two and a half floors when from the center of the stairwell came a loud humming sound. Flying at breakneck speed up the center was a robot. Before Danny could even react, the wind was knocked out of him, causing him to see stars. A puff of purple gas was sprayed into his face giving of the calming scent of lavender just as he took a staggered breath. His eyes and limbs began to feel heavy. Danny could feel his consciousness slip along with his body into the robot's arms.

* * *

When Danny awoke he found his arms restrained to the rails in his bed. There was enough slack for some basic movement, but not enough to let him escape from his bed again. But there he was again, alone in his room.

Alone. He was alone; and not just alone in his hospital room. He was all alone in the world. Everyone he had ever known or cared about, gone. In the blink of an eye, to Danny they had lived an died and had been dead for centuries. Everything he knew about the world was wrong now and apparently the universe as well.

Why was he placed into suspended animation? Didn't they know that this might happen to him? If it was to save his life, why not let him die? Did his family even know about this? Were they able to get some sense of closure, or was he just a missing person in his time? Did they want this for him, a chance to live, but with the possibility of never seeing them ever again? Would he have even wanted this if he had been given the choice?

Danny wasn't sure how much time had passed since he had awoken, but it felt like a good while before the man in the blue jumpsuit, that Captain Star Johnson or whatever reentered his room.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Danny said. "It's just a lot finding out everything you ever knew about your life was suddenly ripped from you in what feels like the blink of an eye."

There was a look of remorse on the Captain's face as he pulled up a chair near Danny's bed. "Well, I didn't make that transition very easy now did I?"

Danny's head slightly nodded. "But how do you break that kind of news to someone without them breaking? I don't think that there was any easy way to break the news. So, I think that you mentioned an interview earlier."

Captain Star Johnson cracked a slight smile. "Yes. We want you to become a captain for the Protectorate."

Danny was taken by surprise. Why him of all people? Not to mention being promoted so highly. No, there was no way captain meant as much now, in this century, as it did in his time.

"Yes, I know what you're thinking, but we think you could be a great asset." Captain Johnson said as though he could read his mind.

"An asset, how? Like I said, everything I know about how anything works... it..."

Star Johnson put a hand up to silence him. "You coming from the past can provide us with a unique perspective."

Danny laughed. "It sounds like standard sci-fi reasoning."

Captain Johnson nodded. "Yes, I guess it does, hearkening back to those old sci-fi shows doesn't it. Now, the tests won't be easy and it will take you time to adjust, but we at the Protectorate do believe that it would be a great investment, not only in your future but ours as well. So, what do you say?"

Captain Johnson held out his hand.

Everything he knew or had was gone. Whatever options he once had for his future were thrown out the window beyond his reach. What else could he do?

Without hesitation Danny shook Captain Star Johnson's hand.

"I'm in. Now, can we get these things off of me?" Danny asked gesturing to the hand restraints.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning when Daniel awoke he found a jumpsuit similar to Captain Star Johnson's folded up on one of the visitor's chairs. But it was teal and light green as opposed to the baby blue of the Captain's. Daniel climbed out of bed grabbing the clothes and carrying them into the attached bathroom. He enjoyed the hot water falling onto his skin washing away whatever had built up on him during his time unconscious.

As he washed himself off he looked over the injuries he accumulated in the event leading up to his suspended animation. He wished someone knew what had happened. All that they had on his file was that he had nearly died saving someone related to the suspended animation project. There was nothing more related to the incident that Danny was aware of and it frustrated Danny. But whoever he had saved had apparently put him under in an attempt to repay him. It was a relief that his family had been aware of this, so they did have a sense of closure. If only he could have woken up far sooner than three and a half centuries.

After drying off Daniel put on his new clothes. The jumpsuit wasn't skin tight, but was still roomy. Danny had just stepped out of the bathroom when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in." Danny said, running the towel over his hair one last time.

Captain Star Johnson strode into the room, owning every step. "Well Dodgers, are you ready?"

Danny nodded, feeling the finality of his decision start to sink in. "Yes, I think I am."

* * *

Daniel stared up at the Earth Headquarters of the Galactic Protectorate. It was a sight to behold from the globe to the sides of the buildings that supported the globe, the glistening windows that showed that these supports were in fact workable offices of some sort. This building truly was an architectural wonder. The interior was huge and vast. Danny had a hard time trying to take everything in all at once. The ceilings alone in the entrance hall seemed to go on for ages. There were so many sounds of p.a. systems calling for various employees to go to different sectors of the buildings. Even through the space was large and open, it was still a bustling placed filled with people. Danny was sure that he had even caught a glimpse of a few alien species.

"Feeling like a fish out of water?" Star Johnson asked.

Daniel swallowed. "Just a little."

Star cracked a small smile. "You'll get used to it kid."

* * *

The registration process went a lot faster that Danny thought it would. But by the end of it all, his stomach was cramping with hunger pangs. He did miss breakfast though, so that certainly didn't help matters. It was as though Captain Star Johnson could read his mind.

"Come on kid, let's get to my ship. We'll grab you something to eat once we reach space. The first take off can be hard on your stomach."

Danny stopped in his tracks. "Space? I thought I was heading to academy."

"You are, but it isn't on Earth. The training academy is on Trarth 7T7 in the Scoth R85 quadrent." Johnson said.

Daniel nodded, not knowing a thing Captain Star Johnson was saying. He wondered just how long it was going to take him to remember all of these made up sounding names, or better yet, not to mix them up with each other.

"Yeah... I definitely know where Scoth 7T8R5 is at." Danny mumbled to himself.

Dodgers stared at the ship in total awe. It was like a vertical rocket, sleek, shiny, and beautiful. The morning light glinted off its white and teal surface. Never in his life would Danny have though he would see something like this.

Captain Star Johnson chuckled at his awe inspired gaze. "Oh just wait until we take her up."

Daniel followed the captain into the cockpit, the doors shwooshing open like on the old sci-fi movies. Bright colored lights lit up the control panels. Large monitors hung above the crew chairs, which several protectorate members were sitting. Danny a man in his late twenties, with dark brown hair. A red patch of hair streaked across the top of his head. He was wearing a pale green jumpsuit with dark blue accents. His skin was a pale orange with yellow and red speckles dotting his skin.

Sitting beside him was a young woman, most likely in her late teens, early twenties, in a sky blue jumpsuit with deep purple accents. He skin was a feint lilac which complimented her nearly platinum blonde hair. Her bright expressive sky blue eyes were brimming with hidden excitement.

There was another woman human looking woman. Although she looked older than the girl with lilac skin by a couple of years, she still held onto the youthful beauty of a woman in her lower twenties. Her light brown hair was cropped at her chin. Her chin was sharp but she had a small button nose.

Last on the bridge, but certainly not least was another man in his mid thirties. He wore a jumpsuit like the one Danny was wearing. His strawberry blond hair was cut short. His features had begun to chisel out as he grew into a more mature face.

What surprised Danny the most wasn't the fact that half the crew members were aliens - Daniel half expected that - the moment the door opened up, the girl with lilac skin had leaned back though the back of her chair, her bright blue eyes growing wide like the smile on her face. In another instant she had phased through her chair all together and floated in front of the captain. Her hair was floating about like she was swimming under water. It was like she was laying on her stomach mid air, with her hands pressed up against his cheeks.

"So Captain, where is he?" She said.

Captain Star Johnson leaned off to his right as the girl rolled towards her right, giving her a good view of Daniel. In that brief second where Daniel and the alien's girls eyes connected, Daniel saw a flash of purple. It was brief, so fast that Daniel thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Instantly the girl's expression changed of one of captivation, but like that flash of purple, it was gone in an instant. Her face was one of pure excitement again.

"I've been waiting to meet you Daniel. I am Sergeant Kyri Sarril, princess of Alben." The girl said holding her hand out.

Danny took her hand, not entirely sure if this was even a formal enough gesture, she was a princess after all. Should he bow or something after? He had no idea what he should do?

"Don't worry about the formalities, my planet is a pretty relaxed one when it comes to these kinds of things." Kyri said, as if reading his mind.

The one with pale orange skin chimed in, "Oh I believe that is an understatement if you've ever said one Kyri."

Kyri crossed her arms and huffed. "It's not that big of one Mike."

The other human man had gotten out of his chair, throwing one arm around Daniel's shoulder as he approached. "Don't be surprised when you can feel her message you in your head. It's something her species can do. It is nice when comms go down."

"I can also feel into the emotions of those around me." Kyri said. "It's a passive thing my species can do, but I'll try not focus on you if it winds up bothering you."

The other female stood up, walking towards Danny and the others. "Now that that purple elephant in the room has been addressed, I think it's time to address the other one."

Her brown eyes flashed at Captain Johnson, "This kid looks like he's fourteen. You sure he's ready for this." Her gaze shifted towards Danny.

The woman held an icy gaze that chilled him to his core. It took everything not to shiver.

"He does know that there is always the chance that he could die, right?" She leaned in towards Danny as she said this.

Daniel stared back into the icy landscape in her eyes. He wasn't going to let himself be intimidated. He needed to prove himself, and he already had a sever handicap being so displaced in time. Everything for the next few months was going to be one big fish out of water experience for him and he wasn't going to let it hold him back. This was his chance to prove it.

He began to open his mouth when Kyri threw her arms around his neck. "Ooo this defiantly a determined one. I think he'll give you a run for your money Tasha."

Daniel shut his mouth. Well that kind of killed any accreditation he was going to have. Oh well, at least he wasn't going to come off sounding like some punk kid too big for his boots. Maybe it was best that she had stepped in.

"Oh, I killed your big moment didn't I? I'm sorry." Kyri said and it was if he could feel Kyri's embarrassment and guilt coming from her.

"No, it's, you're fine." Danny said, trying to reassure her. He looked back at Tasha, some of the fire he held before had dissipated, "I know I look young, but I should have died over three hundred years ago saving someone. If I wind up dying being put in another situation like that one, then so be it."

Tasha stared at him for a moment, leaning in as if inspecting how genuine that statement was. She took in a deep breath and gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Alright then, just as long as you know what your getting into." Tasha said. "It still doesn't change the fact that you look like you're fourteen."

Kyri's face was floating inches away from his, her blue eyes looking him over. Daniel could feel his face get hot as everyone but Captain Johnson was zoned in on his face. Mike was tapping his orange chin as his eyes were lost in thought.

"You know, I think I've got it." Mike said.

The crowd had encroached onto Danny as if trying to see it themselves.

"It's the haircut." Mike said.

Tasha's eyes grew wide. "Ooo yes, I definitely see it now."

Danny felt his hair get pushed back off his forehead. There were nods of acknowledgement from the rest of the group. Kyri poked at his cheeks.

"It's also the freckles." She said. "Freckles do that."

Captain Star Johnson rolled his eyes and let out a small sigh as he grabbed the backs of the collars of the two humans. "Well the haircut can be taken care of as soon as he gets into training. So come on, get your butts in your seats so we can take off."

With a hint of reluctance, the others found their way back to their seats. Danny looked in the direction of one of the empty seats and back to Captain Johnson. The older man gave Danny an upwards head tilt and he made his way to his seat. As Danny sat down beside the human male, the older man nudged him.

"I'm Lieutenant Trent Fletcher. Don't touch any of the controls and you'll be good." He said flashing him a smile.

Danny's heart raced as he felt the ship roar to life. He could feel the faint hints of the engine's purring around him, making the ship feel alive. The console fired up displaying lines, charts, and numbers Danny had no clue how to read. He was sure that once he was done with his training it would all make sense, but for now he was clueless. The city around them quickly turned into a speck on the horizon as the ship climbed higher and higher into the atmosphere. With almost no effort at all the blue tints of the upper atmosphere gave way to the dark inky expanse that was space.

The ship glided along towards Venus, leaving Earth behind. It was awe inspiring seeing space this way. Never in his life did Danny think that he'd actually see space like this, let alone with his own eyes. It was all too rare in his own time for anyone to get into space, now anyone could have this view.

"Alright Captain, we should be good to engage the autopilot." Trent said.

Captain Star Johnson smiled. "Well then, fire her up and let's get something to eat."

Everyone hopped out of their seats without a moment of hesitation. Danny trailed behind following the others. He wondered how long it would take him to remember the layout of a ship like this.

"So kid," Mike said getting his attention, "did you ever think you'd be visiting other planets?"

Danny shook his head. "No way. The only way that could have happened was if the Space Z project took me on that one way trip to Mars."

Danny saw the others try to hold back snorts which lead into coughing fits. He felt like it was one of those situations of hindsight that Daniel wasn't sure if he even wanted to know the outcome to now. Was it really a resounding failure?

Mike put his arm around Danny's shoulder. "Danny, it wasn't a one way trip."

"Well except for one person." Tasha interjected.

Danny looked back and forth between the two of them. What was that supposed to mean? Had the technology gotten that good that fast that it wasn't a one way?

"The martians sent everyone back but one person." Mike said.

"What happened to the one person?" Danny asked.

Tasha shrugged. "You're guess is as good as mine."

"Was there not any sort of investigat- wait, did you say martians?" Danny asked.

Danny looked around and noticed that they were deep into the heart of the ship. He had no idea where he was or how he had gotten here from the bridge. This was probably going to be a problem in which a slightly older Danny was going to have to deal with.

"When Space Z landed on the planet they found that it had been occupied for the past couple of thousands of years by the martians. They only let one person stay on Mars before shipping everyone back to Earth. And ever since then tensions between the Earth and Mars have been strained. The martians have been wanting to expand their empire across the universe and Earth, being their neighbor, has been a planet they have had their eye on for a while. While there is a war, it's been mostly small skirmishes." Captain Star Johnson said.

Well that was a lot to take in. Everything Danny knew really went out the window. He wondered what else he was going to learn between now and the end of training that was going to make his head spin. How was he even going to make it in this time period? Was he ever going to catch up with everyone, or was he just going to be left in the dust?

Kyri placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. It was as if that touch was sending a calming wave that was washing over him saying that everything was going to be alright. Maybe he was cut out for this after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny had to restrain himself from wolfing down the plate of food in front of him. It didn't matter what kind of food was in front of him, all that mattered was getting it down and satisfying his starving stomach. Mike and Kyri were both lacking the restraint Danny had and eagerly downed two helpings by the time he finished one.

"Gosh he's so scrawny. How much you wanna bet that if he has Master Sergeant Jones, he's going to get his signature diet?" Tasha asked Captain Johnson.

Captain Johnson chuckled. "I bet he will. I was just about as small as he was and he put me on it the entire way through."

Daniel paused. What did they mean by that. He really hoped it wasn't going to be something as disgusting as eating half a dozen raw eggs with every meal.

"I'm not sure if I want to know what I'm in for." Daniel said.

"It's not as bad as you think it is. Basically its an extra meal in the evening topped off with two protein shakes. Man were those the worst shakes in my life." Captain Johnson shuddered at the memory.

"So, just how bad is training?" Danny asked.

"Basic training will last you about three months." Mike said "It will probably be the most grueling part you have to go through. It's the most intense mentally and physically."

Dodgers figured as such. He wasn't going to let it worry him too much. How much different could it have been then basic training in his own time? Danny figured that rhetorical question was going to put him through a nightmare, but wasn't that what basic training was in the first place.

"Sargent training is a bit more of an upgraded basic training, less physical, a lot more learning. Lieutenant is where everything is going to be coming together and I know nothing about Captain's training." Trent said.

Captain Johnson quickly hid a bemused look before going back to a serious face. "If you get through basic, you'll do fine. I'd say Captain's training has probably been the easiest two months of my life. Like they said, from basic, it gets easier from there. You won't have the practical experience to build off of, but if you stick to your books, it shouldn't be too hard to pass your tests. After your six months are up, you'll be training under me before you get a ship and crew of your own. We're not just going to throw you out there with no idea what you're doing."

Danny nodded. It was some weight off of him. Yes, he'd have training, but the idea of being thrown in feet first was terrifying. At least he wasn't going to be commanding a ship on his own in just six months, he'd have some practical experience to get his feet wet.

* * *

Danny swallowed hard as they landed. His heart raced in his chest as he got a good look at the academy. How in the world was he ever going to do this? Before he could be overcome with his worries any further, he could feel Kyri reach out to him through her psychic link. The wave of calm washed over him and he was able to gather himself as he approached the doors to the ship.

Captain Johnson handed him his bag and a packet of paperwork. "This has everything you'll need for basic, no more no less. Whatever you do, don't open anything or you'll have to toss it. Remember, stick to your books and your training, you'll do fine. We'll see you in six months rookie."

With a slight smile and light pat on the back, Danny set forward to what was surely to be a six long living nightmare.

Danny saw the ship leave from the corner of his eye and he could feel a pang of phantom sadness wash over him. As the feeling faded, Danny's attention turned towards the group of recruits waiting in a cluster. They came in all shapes, sizes, colors, and species. There were tall lanky green catlike people, short furry orange creatures with six eyes and curly antenna, nearly humanlike people with slight variations like blue skin or horns coming out of all kinds of places, even a few humans. Most importantly, they all shared one thing in common: the look of unease. And it was comforting that no matter the circumstances, it was something they could all share in.

The sun tried its best to beat through the cracks in the overcast sky above to no prevail. The wind would pick up making those not dressed for the weather shiver. The packs of papers would be gripped tightly by their owners. Danny could feel a few stray drops of rain splash down on his hair. Before anyone could put their paperwork away a large man adorned in a dark green military suit with a large tan hat stepped up to the group.

The man's stride was commanding, giving off an aurora of power and control. His eyes scanned over the recruits before he stood in front of the group. His chin looked as strong as the two tree trunk thick arms that crossed his chest the size of an oak barrel. The man's dark gray mustache twitched as he prepared his words.

"Alright you young whippersnappers. Welcome to the longest three months of your life. I am Master Sergeant Emily Dickinson Jones and I will be your drill master for the duration of your stay."

Danny heard the guy next to him snicker at the name. The drill sergeant's eyes narrowed as he pushed through the crowd. He stared deeply into the young man with a raging fire in his eyes that made Danny very glad that it wasn't being directed towards him.

"Do you find my name amusing because my mama happens to be a fan of romantic poetry?" The drill sergeant belted with enough force to shake everyone around him.

"No." the young man squeaked.

Master Sergeant Jones leaned in even closer, his voice growing even louder. " **You will respond with Yes drill sergeant or no drill sergeant! Do you understand!?** "

"Yes drill sergeant." the kid squeaked again.

The drill sergeant stared at him before backing away. "Do you **all** understand?"

The crowd collectively yelled. " **Yes drill sergeant**!"

"Good! Now for your comrade's transgression, you will all line up on the yellow line and drop and give me fifty push ups right this moment! Leave your belongings where they are!"

Everyone scrambled to the line as fast as they could, dropping to the ground. Danny's heart was racing. "Alright everyone! If a single one of you messes up, we start this whole thing over again rookies. All together now! One!"

Danny pushed himself off the ground.

"Alright, we're starting over! Everyone, we're counting together! And one!"

Everyone shouted together in unison just as they had earlier. This time however, it was far more quieter with all the grunts and strained effort from the push ups.

"I can't hear you rookies!"

" **One**!"

Nearly an hour had passed by the time they had managed to get to all fifty push ups. By that time Danny's throat was raw and his arms were sore, stiff, and felt like jello all at once. He had never done so many push ups in his life; he had to have done at least a thousand. Not even an hour in and this was shaping up to be the nightmare that was promised to him.

* * *

Danny stood at attention in the early morning hours. His breath was visible and danced in front of him in the crisp cool air. It took every effort not to yawn. His body was protesting at being awake at four in the morning. The early morning wind blew up against the back of his neck making Danny miss his old haircut. He couldn't wait for basic training to be over so his hair could begin to grow out again. Thunder rumbled over head and with a drop in temperature the rain began pouring down, drenching everyone in the company. What Danny would give for this all to be waved away in a simple montage.

* * *

By the time evening sun had set, Danny was absolutely exhausted. The day had consisted of a six mile run through forested hilly terrain, an hour of exercises on the pull up bars, several runs through an obstacle course, as well as classroom time. With an exhausted mind, he had to force himself to learn the names of several nearby galaxies, the names of their inhabitants as well as several key facts about their planet such as government styles and economical statuses. Before Danny could even collapse into his bed and unload his mind and relax his body from the physical and mental training he saw Drill Sergeant Johnson standing at the door. With every last bit of energy, Danny forced himself not to show any sort of attitude. Several of his comrades had made that mistake earlier resulting in multiple rounds of extensive push ups.

"Dodgers, Reynolds, Tammeral, Zastra, its time to get your scrawny butts beefed up."

It was then that Danny heard it. That sound that Danny hoped that the drill sergeant didn't hear. Oh how he hoped that he did not hear Tammeral let out her sigh.

"C company!" Drill Sergeant Johnson yelled. "Tammeral has earned you another set of fifty push ups!"

Begrudgingly, Danny dropped to the floor and readied up for the world of pain. His muscles ached as they reached thirty five push ups. He could feel a mental comforting squeeze on the shoulder, but the pain pulsating through his body overcame it. At this point with his mind and body pushed to the absolute limit, he couldn't help but stop himself from shooting Tammeral a glare.

"Well you can thank Dodgers for another fifty push ups. Gee, I'm starting to think that you like doing push ups C company. Maybe we should do more. How about we do a hundred each morning before going to attention. Don't you all agree?"

" **Yes drill sergeant**!"

* * *

Despite how hungry he was, Danny could barely stomach the food after going through yet another three sets of push ups as well as a few sets of jumping jacks that Drill Sergeant Johnson thought they needed. He worried if he even took another bite that he would wind up getting sick.

"Come on Dodgers, you are ten pounds under the Federation's regulated weight minimum! I don't care if you're worried about you upsetting that little tummy of yours! Maybe next time you and your comrades will keep your attitudes to yourselves! Come on Zastra! Down that shake! I don't care if it doesn't taste good! It's not supposed to! Its supposed to make your fragile little rookie butts into something!"

* * *

Four weeks of grueling training had passed and Danny felt a wave of relief when they finally had the weekends opened up to them. Sure, it wasn't like he had any money to go out and leave the academy with some of the others, but the chance to relax before jumping back into much needed studying was nice. Danny was enjoying the warmth of the sun with a few others in his company catching up on much needed downtime when Drill Sergeant Johnson approached the group. Everyone went silent and ridged as they were expecting a barrage of push ups at any second.

"Dodgers, you got a call from some friends of yours."

"Reynolds and the gang need bailed out already? Man it's not even dinner time yet." Danny said.

Drill Sergeant chuckled, a rarity. While during training, he could be a real tough drill sergeant, it turns out he was somewhat of a nice guy in the downtime. The past couple of weeks had been filed with pleasantries over the late night meal that he and the other scrawny rookies shared. While it was a pain in the butt, it was nice to be able to have a somewhat pleasant relationship with the man, especially since he was going to be dealing with him over the next five months.

"No, it's some girl named Kyri." the drill sergeant said.

Danny was nudged in the side by one of his company friends. "I thought you said you hadn't been awake long enough to have a girlfriend."

Danny rolled his eyes. "I did. I'll see you guys later."

Making his way to the phone Danny saw the call and accepted it. A second later the screen flashed to life revealing Kyri on the other side of the screen along with Mike and Trent.

"Danny, how are you doing? I hope you've made some friends there." Kyri said with a large grin.

Danny could almost feel her anticipation through the screen. It was like his chest held a thousand small dancing butterflies and his stomach was doing flips and spins.

"Yeah, I have. I actually thought this call was going to be one of them trying to get me to bail them out. They said they were going out for drinks and well," Danny rubbed his ear, "let's just say he isn't the most responsible person I've ever met."

Kyri's joy was felt through the large smile on her face as well as nearly through the screen. "Well I'm glad to hear it."

"So, who's your drill sergeant?" Trent asked.

"I'll give you one guess." Danny replied.

The three of them chuckled to themselves.

"How many push ups are you guys up to now? He can get pretty tough." Trent asked.

Danny had to stop himself from rubbing his arms at the mention of push ups. "Five sets of push ups and four sets of jumping jacks."

"Oh, well that's not that bad." Mike said.

Trent nodded in agreement. "Yeah, my company had twelve and ten by week two. We were always messing up something."

"They say that Captain Star Johnson was the worst that he had ever had. Legend says that his company jacked it up to thirty and twenty by the end of the second day. That's why Captain Johnson and the remaining members of his company are so muscular even to this day." Mike said.

If it wasn't so crazy, Danny would have probably believed him. There was no way that the sergeant was that punishment happy so early on in his career.

"How's your special diet going?" Mike asked. "And don't even say you're not, because I know you were too scrawny not to be on the special diet."

Danny's stomach started to feel queasy. The thought of eating more food was nauseating. If he could go through the rest of his life without anyone mentioning food ever again, he'd be just fine with that.

"I'm up from two shakes to four at night with an extra two with every meal." Danny said.

"Oh wow. I don't think the captain had to have that many." Kyri said.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Well I'm having a bit of a growth spurt."

"So you're saying you won't be the size of a fourteen year old, you'll just look like one instead." Mike teased.

Danny shrugged. "Yeah I guess you're right. So, what's been up with you guys?"

Trent shrugged. "Not a whole lot. We ran a couple of supply runs for a super max prison, had a few skirmish with some Martian patrol units, and just regular patrol. It's been a couple of boring weeks. We can't wait for you to get back here."

"Yeah it seems as though all the good missions come in after a rookie joins the crew. You're gonna love it." Mike said.

Danny smiled. "I can't wait."


End file.
